It's Apple's most popular phone each and every day[1], says Apple[2].
It's not selling very well[3], say people other than Apple.
What if both are true? What if neither is true?
Also: iPhone XS/iPhone XS Max/iPhone XR: Here's everything you need to know (in pictures)[4]
As an iPhone XR owner,[5] I needed to find out whether the phone I'd bought would turn me into a pariah of ignorance, or whether I was suddenly with a large, wise cabal that had invested in the right stock.
After all, if Apple really is offering supremely generous trade-ins on the XR, wasn't this a sign of nerves?
I'd previously asked an Apple store salesman whether the rumors were true. He'd only say that the XR and the XS were selling equally well.
It was time, therefore, to seek objectivity. Where else to go but to Best Buy[6], that repository of Geek Squadders and MacBook smashers,[7] to find out.
The iPhone Isn't a Computer.
At Best Buy, there's a separate Apple section, where the phones are placed on tables near the MacBooks.
So, I wandered over, clutched an XR and an XS, and tried to compare the two. I did, however, only have one question to ask the salesman who quickly came over.
Also: Apple to iPhone owners: Up to $100 more for your old phone if you buy XS, XR[8]
Holding up the XR higher, I asked: "Are you guys going to be discounting these soon?"
"Which one is that?" he replied.
You mean you can't tell the difference between the